Integrated circuit (IC) package heat dissipation is a major challenge due to active semiconductor device shrinkage and increased power requirements of the devices. In some package designs, to provide a heat dissipation pathway, the bottom side of an IC chip, or die, is soldered to metal pads on a device substrate, such as a printed circuit board (PCB). In some cases, however, there is not enough heat dissipation capability, e.g., due to additional heat coming to the PCB from other heat generating devices attached to the PCB. In other designs, the semiconductor device is buried underneath a mold compound which has very low thermal conductivity, resulting in inadequate heat dissipation from the package's top surface. In such designs additional heat dissipation is often provided through the use of metal heat spreaders placed next to the semiconductor device. Unfortunately, such package designs can have unacceptably low reliability, high device failure rates and have higher cost due to the use of metal heat spreaders.